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KS - 1882 - Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Railroad Broadside - Mueller Collection

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Western Americana Start Price:375.00 USD Estimated At:750.00 - 1,500.00 USD
KS - 1882 - Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Railroad Broadside - Mueller Collection
Session D is a Mail-Bid Only Auction. Absentee bids will be accepted only. No live bidding will be allowed. All winners will be contacted after the auction. BIDDING ENDS MONDAY JUNE 27 AT 5PM PACIFIC TIME!!!
Broadside appears to be two sided, and is designed to advertise the A.T. & S.F. R.R. excursions to Kansas, as well as opportunities to purchase land in Kansas during the early 1880s. Piece measures 10" x 28" with glass cover, in fancy wooden frame measuring 13" x 31". Information highlighted on the front side includes the "Official Estimate of the Value of the Farm Production of Kansas in 1881" ($123,000,000). Also noted are dates when excursions were available at reduced rates ("First Tuesday of Every Month in 1882"). The cities listed for ticket availability were all in the State of New York: Buffalo, Rochester, Elmira, and Salamanca. A list of 24 cities could be visited, and "All these towns, EXCEPTING TOPEKA, are within the limits of the MAGNIFICENT LAND GRANT OF THE A.T. & S.F. R. R. Co. of which there are TWO MILLION ACRES FOR SALE."

Heading up the reverse side is "SASNAK. Read it Backwards, Then Take a Bill." The emphasis is on "South-Central Kansas as the Garden Spot of the State," and includes statistics for various geographic regions around the state. Ultimately, the piece notes that "these facts show at a glance that the most fertile and productive portions of Kansas lie in the South-Central and South-West sections of the state." Two small areas at the lower right and left corners have been removed, while a small hole is present in the center right. On the reverse, three large tears in the lower and middle left have been repaired with tape, while several smaller tears in the middle and upper right have also been repaired. This railroad began in 1860, and originally connected Atchison and Topeka, Kansas with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Following its connection to Santa Fe it was renamed the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, a name it would carry throughout its history [Ref: www.american-rails.com]. This broadside clearly advertises not only the opportunity to ride the railroad on its excursions, but also to purchase railroad holdings available in the westward expansion.